Read James 3:1–8 Today’s Scripture: The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. James 3:6 I was visiting the used...

Read 1 John 4:9–11 Today’s Scripture: Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11 A Salvation Army worker found a derelict woman alone on the street and invited her to come into the chapel for help, but the woman refused to...

Read Job 23—24 Today’s Scripture: He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10 God knew where Job was—in the furnace! But it was a furnace of God’s appointment, not of Job’s sin. This is not the only answer...

Read Colossians 2:16–23 Today’s Scripture: Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Colossians 2:18 The word translated “disqualify” means “to declare unworthy of a prize.” It is an athletic term: The umpire disqualifies contestants who do not obey...

Read Isaiah 13—18 Today’s Scripture: How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! Isaiah 14:12 Jeremiah had prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last for only seventy years. So, the...

Read Romans 5:1–21 Today’s Scripture: We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3–4 Suffering builds Christian character. The sequence is: suffering— perseverance—character—hope. Our English word tribulation comes from the Latin word tribulum. A tribulum was a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it, used...

Read Job 18 Today’s Scripture: The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning. Job 18:5 In Bildad’s second speech, his weapon was fear. However, Bildad made two mistakes when he gave this speech. To begin with, he preached it to the wrong man,...

Read 2 Timothy 2:1–13 Today’s Scripture: Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. 2 Timothy 2:5 A person who strives as an athlete to win a game and get a crown must be careful to obey...

Read 1 Peter 1:17 Today’s Scripture: Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 1 Peter 1:17 God will give us many gifts and privileges as we grow in the Christian life, but He will never give...

Read Philippians 1:21–24 Today’s Scripture: To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 James tells us that “a double-minded man [is] unstable in all he does” (James 1:8). Or, to use the old Latin proverb: “When the pilot does not know what port he is...